"She's Back!"

Change Slow In Coming

I used to think that I would rather have my nights total in tip money, rather than have what any of these guys made; after dividing it 12 ways (or something; I didn't count 'em -see photo).

I busked last night; and was very much aware of the competition everywhere; and even broke out my song: "Oh No, Not Another Guy With A Guitar," at one point.

Dead In The Water

Like a sailboat where there is no wind....

There was not much money at all; the only ones who appeared to be making anything were the likes of one guy, across from the Monteleone Hotel (where you can stay one night in a haunted room for about the cost of an I-pad) where The Clean Guy used to play and where the guy, who is himself a clean guy and who sings through a microphone and plays a Taylor guitar with brand new strings and who is not much different than Scotty McCreery (one of the American Idol winners) in his whole presentation.

His songs are completely composed with decent lyrics and acoustic guitar parts that call to mind Paul Simon. His voice sounds kind of like what Paul Simon and Dave Matthews illegitimate offspring would sound like.

He had about 50 bucks, it appeared.

He is the kind of artist that people walk up to and say something to, like: "So, are you just out here to make a little money and get your songs heard by people, before returning to Nashville, where you are a studio musician?"

So, who gets your 20 dollar tip; me,

or THAT guy, with the sesame oil stains on his jeans?!?

To which he would basically answer: "Yes, pretty much..."

Then, I went further down Royal Street, where Tanya and Dorise were set up, and where  
Tanya was wrapped in what looked like a sleeping bag with holes cut out of each end; goose down and full body length with her feet sticking out the bottom; at the end of her legs which she alternately crosses or uncrosses as her only indication of the difficulty of the piece that she is playing (uncrossed = challenging).

Tanyas face lit up, and they immediately broke into "Daniel," by Elton John ("We only play it when we see you...").

I had seen them the previous night and had remarked that Tanya should portray herself as a violin playing caterpillar, wearing her tubular body suit as she was; to this I added "A violin playing caterpillar who solves crimes and brings criminals to justice during her breaks...You could hop after the bad guys as if in a potato sack...")

The Stuff You Find On Google...

Dorise got up and walked off, at one point, whereupon Tanya turned to me and asked: "What do you want me to play, now that Dorise is gone?"

This set in motion a whole lot of speculation on my part about the exact nature of their relationship; and I couldn't think of anything other than "Play some Gregorian Chant; some of the oldest music on record."

She kind of frowned, but then played some Gregorian Chant on her violin. The frown said: "I don't really get much out of Gregorian Chant."

We had a good conversation for a while until Dorise returned, whereupon I said: "She's back!" in my best "Poltergeist" voice, and Tanya echoed it.

It's too bad that I'm not comfortable with women who make more money than I do, or I might try to pursue the violin playing caterpillar.
 Must See Video Of Tanya And Dorise Talking About Being Street Musicians (click here)

Then, after hardly making crap, but finding things laying everywhere, I went across the river on the very last ferry and slept and woke up thinking about Sue, the Colombian lady...

Sunday

Tanyas Solo Album

It is Sunday and I had actually intended to go to church at the Veaux Carre Baptist church on Daupine Street, but I dallied too long, reading and thinking about Sue, the Colombian lady; and it was soon too late; and here I am at the Westin, blogging this post and half dreading the going out to play; even though the weather is incredibly mild and there are tourists out walking around.